Hammer Spade and The Long Shooter

Hammer Spade and the Long Shooter

by E.B. Alston


This is another Hammer Spade adventure set this time in Central and South America.


Lady Margot Fisher is a member of the British aristocracy, a jet-set socialite on the world stage, educated, personable and beautiful. Her codename in the British Secret Service is Longshooter. She is missing and MI6 engages Hammer Spade to find her.


Reviews :


Reviewed by Rina Hutchinson


Once again, E. B. Alston has woven a tapestry of characters, events, history and geography that catches and holds the reader from start to finish. As Hammer, Jack and Dave embark on a journey to locate Lady Margot Fisher, the local color of South America comes to life and real-world issues are revealed in a more personal light. The state of the world adds tension and intrigue while giving the reader the information to quietly cheer Margot on and hope she is able to finish her personal mission to avenge the evil that has touched her in her own home. 


Lady Margot Fisher is a strong, educated, skilled and determined woman who is dealing with the loss of her family to violence which was intended for her. In dealing with her grief she has done the world a favor and has gone on a stealth mission to seek and destroy those connected with the brutal murders of her parents and others in her home. She is elusive and skilled, staying ahead of those looking for her, until she meets Hammer.


The series of events that touch Jack, Dave and Hammer are staggered in a way that allows the reader to travel with each of them and brings a deeper, more personal connection to each one, as well as create a picture of Lady Fisher from the many people they talk to. All of this comes together to give the reader a portrait of her that makes her as tangible as the regular characters of the Hammer Spade series.


Perhaps the most intriguing aspect of the story is the way Margot is able to reconcile her faith with the real world even when dealing with the grief and pain she has endured. Her conversations with Hammer are enlightening and give the reader something to think about.


In the end, the reader is left with a yearning to see what happens to Jack and how Hammer deals with the events he was witness to, while cheering Dave for a deed well done. This story makes the reader anxious to find out what happens next in this intriguing series. The seventh book could not be written fast enough for this reviewer, and fan.